The game of golf has become one (1) of the most popular sports in the world. Golfers of all skill levels are constantly looking for ways to improve their games and make a day on the course more enjoyable and thus, golf accessory manufacturers are always looking for ways to satisfy this desire. One (1) of the most common and important golf accessories is the golf ball. During a regular game of golf, balls are easily lost or damaged and regularly need to be replaced.
For many casual golfers, a good day on the course is directly related to how many golf balls they loose or find. Additionally, many golfers prefer to use cheaper balls when teeing off, around water hazards, or for other shots where the likely hood of loosing the golf ball is increased; keeping the better golf balls for situations where precision and accuracy is of the utmost importance, such as chip shots and putting. This practice usually requires a golfer to fumble through a golf bag searching for the ball of choice or keeping multiple balls in their pockets during the game, which is inconvenient and uncomfortable.
A variety of attempts have been made to overcome these disadvantages and provide a means to contain and dispense a plurality of golf balls in a convenient and efficient manner. These attempts include various tubular golf ball holders where the golf balls are vertically stacked and dispensed one at a time from a golf ball holder housing during game play, practice, or the like when a ball needs to be replaced. The attempts typically encounter various disadvantages including: inconvenient and restrictive methods of mounting or carrying the holder, cumbersome mechanisms used to retain and dispense the balls, dispensing mechanisms that oppose the force being exerted by the stacking of balls within the holder often causing the dispensing means to malfunction, the inability to determine how many if any balls are actually stored within the holder, or multiple components that require a user to assembly the holder to manipulate parts when a golf ball is to be inserted or removed. Among the typical relevant attempts are several U.S. Patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,754,495, issued in the name of Anderson, describes a golf ball holder comprising an elongated hollow container suited to carry a plurality of golf balls, an open end, an open end closure cap, and a carrying strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,093, issued in the name of Hollins, describes a golf bag and attachment therefore comprising an elongated tubular pocket that is attachable to an inside portion of golf bag beside the club storage space that holds a column of golf balls.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,013, issued in the name of Motard, describes a golf ball dispenser comprising a hollow tubular magazine suitably sized to receive a golf ball that is open on both ends having a dispensing unit at one (1) of the open ends. The dispensing unit comprises two (2) offset arcuate gate members that positioned such that when the dispensing unit is engaged one (1) gate member leaves the lower end of the tubular magazine open thus dispensing the lower ball while the other gate member obstructs the path of the superjacent ball. When the dispensing unit is disengaged a spring returns it to the original position allowing the remaining balls within the magazine to be displaced into a lowered dispensing position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,209, issued in the name of Sanders, describes a golf ball holder comprising a cylindrical housing having an upper retaining chamber and lower dispensing chamber, a dispensing opening on the lower end of the housing suitably sized to allow a golf ball to pass through, and a retaining finger that prevents the golf balls from fully dropping into the dispensing chamber. Golf balls are laterally moved within the chamber to a lower and dispensing position when the retaining finger is depressed.
Additionally, ornamental designs for golf ball holders and dispensers exist, particularly, U.S. Pat. Nos. D 277,709; D 300,447; D 321,921; D 353,180 and D 362,037. However, none of these designs are similar to the present invention.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives, each of these references suffers from one (1) or more of the aforementioned disadvantages. Accordingly, to satisfy the equipment needs of the golfing public, manufacturers are constantly looking for new and improved golf equipment designed to not only improve one's score but the enjoyment of the game as a whole. The development of the invention herein described substantially departs from the conventional solutions and in doing so fulfills this need.